Evaluating Benefits of Yoga

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Evaluating Benefits of Yoga - American Council on Exercise (ACE) First

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=31446

02 Oct 2005

Today more than 11 million Americans pack fitness studios around the

country seeking the mind-body benefits of yoga, including increased

flexibility, strength, balance and muscle tone. But is yoga also a

good calorie-burning workout? In an exclusive study, the American

Council on Exercise (ACE), America's nonprofit fitness advocate,

examined the aerobic benefits and calorie expenditure of Hatha yoga,

the most beginner-friendly and widespread practice.

Lead researchers Dawn Boehde and Porcari, Ph.D., FACSM, from the

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse recruited 34 healthy but sedentary

women (average age of 33) for the study. Before beginning the study,

participants were given the same series of tests evaluating their

flexibility, balance, aerobic fitness level and muscular strength and

endurance.

The subjects where divided into two groups: a yoga group and a non-

yoga control group. The yoga group participated in 55-minute Hatha

yoga classes three times a week during the eight-week study period

while the non-yoga group was barred from any form of exercise.

The study concluded that while the yoga group showed numerous

improvements in strength and endurance as well as improved balance

and flexibility, they did not burn a significant amount of calories.

In fact, one 50-minute session of Hatha yoga burns just 144 calories,

similar to a slow walk.

" Yoga is designed to relax the body and help improve musculoskeletal

fitness. If you attempt to incorporate calorie-burning elements in a

yoga session you may compromise the essential purpose and beneficial

effects of the practice, " said Dr. Cedric X. , chief exercise

physiologist for ACE. " While the ACE study shows that a Hatha yoga

session burns a relatively small amount of calories, yoga is still a

valuable addition to any exercise routine offering the essential

elements of flexibility, balance and relaxation; factors often

neglected in traditional workouts. "

Yoga group participants did show the following improvements:

-- Yoga participants' total body flexibility improved by 13 percent,

with significant results in shoulder and trunk flexibility

-- Muscular fitness also improved in the yoga group enabling them to

do an average of six more push-ups and 14 more curl-ups

-- Yoga participants experienced a 17-second increase in their one-

legged stand time

Complete study results appear in the September/October 2005 edition

of ACE Fitness Matters magazine or on our Web site at

acefitness.org/getfit/yoga.aspx.